Dictionary › 临时

临时

lín shí

Old HSK 5 HSK 3.0 level 5 2-character word Traditional 臨時

临时 (lín shí) means "temporary, at the last moment". It is an HSK 3.0 level 5 word, and was HSK 5 in the old six-level list.

What 临时 means

1. as the time draws near
2. at the last moment
3. temporary
4. interim
5. ad hoc

The characters in 临时

• 临línto face; to overlook; to arrive
• 时shío'clock; time; when

Example sentences

• 临时抱佛脚。
  I'm making a last minute effort.
• 正式工比临时工要好。
  Zhèngshìgōng bǐ línshígōng yào hǎo.
  A permanent job is better than a temporary one.
• 夜幕降临时，孩子们回家了。
  Yèmùjiànglín shí, háizimen huíjiā le.
  The children returned home at dusk.
• 事先打个招呼，别叫我临时抓瞎。
  Let me know beforehand instead of catching me on the hop at the last minute.
• 家豪说他今天不来了，临时加班。
  Jia-hao said he's not coming today. He has a last-minute overtime.
• 当圣诞节来临时，我通常会收到许多礼物。
  Dāng Shèngdànjié láilín shí, wǒ tōngcháng huì shōudào xǔduō lǐwù.
  When Christmas comes around, I usually receive a lot of presents.

Words starting with 临时

• 临时工lín shí gōngtemporary worker; temp; temporary work
• 临时政府lín shí zhèng fǔprovisional government
• 临时分居lín shí fēn jūtrial separation
• 临时演员lín shí yǎn yuánan extra (in a movie)
• 临时保姆lín shí bǎo mǔtemporary caregiver; babysitter
• 临时贷款lín shí dài kuǎnbridging loan
• 临时抱佛脚lín shí bào fó jiǎo(idiom) see 抱佛脚

Words containing 临时

• 平时不烧香，临时抱佛脚píng shí bù shāo xiāng , lín shí bào fó jiǎo(lit.) to never burn incense when all's well, but clutch Buddha's feet in a crisis…

Sounds the same

Read lín shí, tone for tone, but written differently.

• 磷石muscovite, mica (used in TCM)

Where 临时 is taught

In the GraphChinese course it is part of Time & Temporal Expressions (HSK 5), each one a topic in the dependency graph of HSK 1–6 that opens only once its prerequisites are solid.

Go deeper

• Every HSK 5 word, with the rest of its level.
• The four tones and the neutral tone, to read lín shí correctly.
• Look up another word in the free dictionary.